Homophobia Talk, Discussion Opens Line of Communication

By Daniel C. StevensonAssociate News Editor

A discussion Monday night following a talk by author and gay activist
Warren J. Blumenfeld about homophobia was "the kind of communication that
is needed to make any progress on the issue," said Interfraternity Council
Vice President Bryan D. Dye '96.

Blumenfeld's talk, entitled Homophobia: How We All Pay the Price,
was sponsored by Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, Transgenders, and Friends at
MIT, the IFC, and Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.

The talk was "a step in the right direction," said GAMIT general
coordinator Kristen K. Nummerdor '94. "Progress was definitely made" in
regards to homophobia at MIT, said Dye. "We're finally talking in an open
and honest way."

Those who attended the talk "advanced one step in the understanding and
supporting of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people," Blumenfeld said. "I was
overwhelmed at how positive I felt it went," he said. "It exceeded
expectations."

Safe forum for discussion

"I feel generally people aren't afforded the opportunity to discuss
issues of homophobia and sexual orientation," Blumenfeld said, but "MIT
provided a forum for people to discuss the issues." The forum took the form
of a lengthy discussion following the talk.

The discussion environment created "enough safety for people to be
frank, and honest, and open," Blumenfeld said. "People had the safety to
discuss issues that they were probably feeling for a while now."

Many issues that were taboo or people were afraid to bring up were
brought up during the discussion, Dye said. "A lot of good, honest,
viewpoints came out," he said.

"Both sides understanding each other is really going to be the key to
ending this homophobia," Dye said. Homophobia is the result of "a fear of
something you don't understand. If you can get to understand it you're not
afraid of it, and it's not a problem."

"For the first time, it wasn't just rumors or hearsay passing back and
forth, it was people from both communities sitting down together," said IFC
President Prashant B. Doshi '95. "Once you start to communicate, you can
start to eliminate some of the stereotypes and some of the false
notions."

"Progress was made simply because this discussion opened lines of
communication between GAMIT and the campus at large," Nummerdor said. "I
hope that because of this program, GAMIT will be able to be involved in
outreach with living groups, offices, and student groups who want to learn
more about combatting homophobia."

"That kind of communication needs to happen on a regular basis," Doshi
said. "We broke the ice here, and we need to continue in the future."

In his talk, Blumenfeld discussed issues related to homophobia and its
effects on society. "Warren did a good job of pointing out the ways that
homophobia and heterosexism are common in our everyday lives," Nummerdor
said.

"His presentation was good at helping people notice heterosexism which
they are usually blind to, such as heterosexist representations in the
media, or the heterosexist expectations we carry around with us daily,"
Nummerdor said.

"There was good representation from both the greek system and from
GAMIT," Blumenfeld said. Blumenfeld was pleased "that some of the members
of the greek system went up and shook the hands of GAMIT members."

"I was pleased at the turnout for the event; there were a lot of faces
there that I don't usually see at BGLAD events," Nummerdor said. Several
MIT staff members and administrators also attended.

BGLAD continued

Monday's talk was part of Bisexual, Gay, and Lesbian Awareness Days, a
week-long series of events. BGLAD "is a time when the lesbigay community
celebrates itself and reaches out to share aspects of our community with
others," Nummerdor said. "BGLAD is a time when we choose to open up our
community to others in hopes of reaching greater understanding and less
bigotry and hatred."

"Another goal of BGLAD is to make the atmosphere on the MIT campus more
queer-positive," Nummerdor said. BGLAD is one of the many things GAMIT does
to try to end homophobia, she added.

BGLAD events included a coming out support group on Tuesday and a
transsexuality discussion on Wednesday. "People have a lot to learn about
transgender oppression," Nummerdor said, "and I hope that GAMIT can play a
major role in helping to put those issues on the table for discussion."